where it differs, including where it loses

Compared

swe-mux sits in a crowded category and does not win most of it. This page says what each of the neighbouring tools does, from that tool's own documentation, and marks the rows where swe-mux is behind as plainly as the rows where it is ahead.

Every cell names its source and the page carries the date those sources were read. Where the sources did not settle a question the answer is unclear rather than a guess. Several of these projects are young and move quickly, so check the date before trusting a row, and open an issue if a cell about your project is wrong. It will be fixed rather than argued about.

What each of these is

They are not the same kind of thing, which is the first thing a comparison table hides. Read this before the matrix.

  • swe-muxA local daemon that owns pseudoterminals, with a browser UI and a phone client in front of it, plus an evidence layer over what the agents did. Windows-first, Apache-2.0.
  • HerdrA single Rust binary that multiplexes terminals inside your existing terminal and reads agent state into a sidebar. Apache-2.0.
  • tmuxThe terminal multiplexer everything in this category is measured against. It is here as the baseline, not as a competitor: it predates coding agents by twenty years and is not trying to understand them.
  • OrcaA desktop agent development environment with an editor, a built-in browser, mobile apps, and a worktree per task. MIT.
  • ConductorA Mac app that runs parallel Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor agents in isolated git worktrees, with a hosted cloud tier.
  • SupersetA local-first desktop workspace for orchestrating any CLI agent, one git worktree per task, aiming at very large agent counts. Source-available under the Elastic License.
  • WarpA terminal, an agent CLI, and cloud agent infrastructure. The client is open source; the platform around it is a paid service.

At a glance

sources read 2026-08-28

Markers only. Every one of them is a sentence with a source under it, in the section of the same name below, and a row label links straight there.

[x] yes [~] partly [ ] no [?] unclear
swe-muxHerdrtmuxOrcaConductorSupersetWarp
License[x][x][x][x][ ][~][~]
Runs entirely on hardware you control[x][x][x][x][~][x][~]
Windows as a first-class host[x][x][ ][x][ ][ ][x]
macOS as a first-class host[~][x][x][x][x][x][x]
Agent processes outlive the client[x][x][x][?][?][x][?]
Per-agent git worktree isolation[x][?][ ][x][x][x][?]
Breadth of recognized agent CLIs[~][x][ ][x][~][x][~]
Phone client[x][ ][ ][x][ ][?][?]
Voice control of the tool itself[x][?][ ][~][?][?][?]
Evidence about a run that is not the agent's own transcript[x][~][ ][?][?][?][?]
Deciding which agent to look at next[x][~][ ][~][~][~][?]
Hosted runners the vendor operates[ ][ ][ ][ ][x][ ][x]
Teams, roles, and shared state[ ][?][~][?][x][~][x]

Read a marker as shorthand for the sentence below it, never as a score. Nothing on this page is weighted, nothing is added up, and [ ] often means a tool is not trying to do the thing rather than trying and failing.

License

Runs entirely on hardware you control

  • [x]swe-muxNo server, no account, no relay. The project operates nothing.source: swe-mux README
  • [x]HerdrA local binary. Remote means your own SSH or your own rented box.source: herdr.dev
  • [x]tmuxA local process, and nothing else.source: tmux repository
  • [x]OrcaA desktop app on your own subscriptions, with SSH to your own VPS.source: onorca.dev
  • [~]ConductorLocal workspaces on the free plan; Conductor Cloud is a paid tier.source: Conductor pricing
  • [x]SupersetLocal-first, and it states it never proxies model API calls.source: superset.sh
  • [~]WarpThe terminal is local; Warp Drive, cloud agents, and conversation storage are account-backed.source: Warp pricing

Windows as a first-class host

  • [x]swe-muxThe proving platform, and the only one with a packaged desktop application.source: swe-mux README
  • [x]HerdrStable-channel Windows binaries; ARM64 runs the x86_64 build under emulation.source: Herdr install docs
  • [ ]tmuxOpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux, macOS, Solaris. Windows only inside WSL or Cygwin.source: tmux repository
  • [x]OrcaWindows builds published.source: onorca.dev
  • [ ]ConductormacOS only. Its own copy says 'on your Mac'.source: conductor.build
  • [ ]SupersetmacOS primary, an experimental Linux AppImage, Windows not yet available.source: superset.sh
  • [x]WarpWindows 10 and 11, x64 and ARM64.source: warp.dev

macOS as a first-class host

swe-mux loses
  • [~]swe-muxThe wheel installs and the CLI runs, proven in CI. No CI job on any host has ever started a daemon, so the daemon on macOS is unproven, and there is no desktop application for it.source: swe-mux README
  • [x]HerdrStable-channel macOS binaries.source: Herdr install docs
  • [x]tmuxA listed platform.source: tmux repository
  • [x]OrcaARM64 and Intel.source: onorca.dev
  • [x]ConductorThe only platform it ships on.source: conductor.build
  • [x]SupersetThe primary platform.source: superset.sh
  • [x]WarpmacOS 10.14 and newer.source: warp.dev

Agent processes outlive the client

  • [x]swe-muxA supervisor process separate from the daemon and the UI holds every terminal, so a daemon restart and a rebuild of the application itself leave the agents working. A reboot still ends the processes; the sessions stay readable afterwards.source: swe-mux README
  • [x]HerdrDetach and reattach from any terminal or over SSH; its site states sessions survive restarts.source: herdr.dev
  • [x]tmuxThe server keeps sessions after every client detaches. Not across a reboot.source: tmux repository
  • [?]OrcaScrollback recovery after restart is documented; whether the process itself survives is not stated in the sources checked.source: onorca.dev
  • [?]ConductorNot stated in the sources checked.source: conductor.build
  • [x]Superset'Persistent terminals: sessions survive app restarts.'source: superset.sh
  • [?]WarpNot stated for the local terminal in the sources checked.source: warp.dev

Per-agent git worktree isolation

  • [x]swe-muxWorktree creation and removal, plus a serialized land queue: reconcile with the trunk, run the verification command whose exact bytes you approved, then fast-forward only.source: swe-mux README
  • [?]HerdrNot described in the sources checked.source: herdr.dev, Herdr agent guide
  • [ ]tmuxOut of scope. tmux knows nothing about git.source: tmux repository
  • [x]Orca'Every task runs in its own isolated git worktree.'source: onorca.dev
  • [x]ConductorEach workspace is created as its own git worktree and branch.source: Conductor worktree guide
  • [x]Superset'Each agent gets an isolated Git worktree and its own branch.'source: superset.sh
  • [?]WarpNot described in the sources checked.source: warp.dev

Breadth of recognized agent CLIs

swe-mux loses
  • [~]swe-muxAny CLI or shell runs unchanged, including one swe-mux has never heard of. The registry that adds status, transcripts, history, and account switching on top recognizes fewer of them than Orca or Herdr list.source: swe-mux README
  • [x]Herdr'21 agents detected out of the box.'source: herdr.dev
  • [ ]tmuxNone. It multiplexes terminals and does not read what is inside them.source: tmux repository
  • [x]OrcaNames more than twenty CLI agents by hand, and states any CLI agent works.source: onorca.dev
  • [~]ConductorClaude Code, Codex, Cursor, and OpenCode.source: conductor.build
  • [x]SupersetNames six and states any CLI-based coding agent works.source: superset.sh
  • [~]WarpShips its own Agent CLI; other agents run inside it as ordinary terminal programs.source: warp.dev

Phone client

  • [x]swe-muxAn installable web app reached over your own tailnet, with no relay and no swe-mux login.source: swe-mux README
  • [ ]HerdrNo first-party client. Reachable from a phone by SSH into the host and attaching.source: Herdr install docs, Herdr agent guide
  • [ ]tmuxNone. SSH in and attach.source: tmux repository
  • [x]OrcaiOS and Android companion apps.source: onorca.dev
  • [ ]ConductorAnnounced as coming soon, not shipping on the date below.source: Conductor pricing
  • [?]SupersetNot mentioned in the sources checked.source: superset.sh
  • [?]WarpNot mentioned in the sources checked.source: warp.dev

Voice control of the tool itself

  • [x]swe-muxHands-free conversation: on-device wake words, dictation, spoken navigation and commands, and read-aloud.source: swe-mux README
  • [?]HerdrNot described in the sources checked.source: herdr.dev, Herdr agent guide
  • [ ]tmuxOut of scope.source: tmux repository
  • [~]OrcaVoice dictation with on-device models. Dictating into an agent, rather than driving the application.source: onorca.dev
  • [?]ConductorNot mentioned in the sources checked.source: conductor.build
  • [?]SupersetNot mentioned in the sources checked.source: superset.sh
  • [?]WarpNot mentioned in the sources checked.source: warp.dev

Evidence about a run that is not the agent's own transcript

  • [x]swe-muxDeterministic facts captured at the tool boundary - content hashes, parsed test outcomes, git tree hashes - and commit-level provenance separating who authored a change from who landed it. Off by default, per Project.source: swe-mux README
  • [~]HerdrSemantic agent state forwarded by the agent integrations over its socket API. Status rather than an evidence record.source: herdr.dev
  • [ ]tmuxOut of scope.source: tmux repository
  • [?]OrcaNo counterpart found in the sources checked.source: onorca.dev
  • [?]ConductorNo counterpart found in the sources checked.source: conductor.build
  • [?]SupersetNo counterpart found in the sources checked.source: superset.sh
  • [?]WarpNo counterpart found in the sources checked.source: warp.dev

Deciding which agent to look at next

  • [x]swe-muxRanked attention items with a hard daily interrupt budget, four a day by default, incident merging, and suppressed counts always shown rather than hidden.source: swe-mux README
  • [~]HerdrA sidebar marking each agent working, blocked or idle. A view, not a budget.source: herdr.dev
  • [ ]tmuxOut of scope.source: tmux repository
  • [~]OrcaA fleet view with native notifications.source: onorca.dev
  • [~]ConductorA dashboard of what the agents are doing.source: conductor.build
  • [~]SupersetA workspace list. Its own roadmap names human review, not agent count, as the bottleneck.source: Superset, 100 parallel agents
  • [?]WarpNot described in the sources checked.source: warp.dev

Hosted runners the vendor operates

swe-mux loses
  • [ ]swe-muxNone, and none planned. Your machine, or a machine you own.source: swe-mux repository
  • [ ]HerdrA local binary. 'A box you rent' is still your box.source: herdr.dev
  • [ ]tmuxOut of scope.source: tmux repository
  • [ ]OrcaSSH to your own VPS rather than a hosted runner.source: onorca.dev
  • [x]ConductorConductor Cloud, with cloud workspace hours, from the paid tier upward.source: Conductor pricing
  • [ ]SupersetLocal-first, with no hosted execution in the sources checked.source: superset.sh
  • [x]WarpWarp Factories: cloud infrastructure for running fleets of coding agents.source: warp.dev

Teams, roles, and shared state

swe-mux loses
  • [ ]swe-muxA single-operator tool. No multi-tenancy, no role model, no audit subsystem, and none planned.source: swe-mux SECURITY.md
  • [?]HerdrNot described in the sources checked.source: herdr.dev
  • [~]tmuxSeveral people can attach to one session on a host they all have accounts on. Not a product feature so much as a consequence.source: tmux repository
  • [?]OrcaNot described in the sources checked.source: onorca.dev
  • [x]ConductorA Teams plan with live collaboration and admin controls, and SSO on Enterprise.source: Conductor pricing
  • [~]SupersetPaid seats above the free tier.source: superset.sh
  • [x]WarpBusiness and Enterprise plans with collaboration features.source: Warp pricing

How to read this

Three things the matrix cannot say, and they matter more than most of the rows.

  • A phone client is not a phone clientOrca ships iOS and Android apps and calls them companions; swe-mux's claim is parity, meaning nothing functional exists on the desktop and not on the phone. Those are different products in the same cell, and the row cannot tell you which one you want.
  • Breadth is not depthOrca and Herdr recognize more agent CLIs than swe-mux does, and if the CLI you use is on their list and not in swe-mux's registry, that is the row that decides it. Every CLI still runs in swe-mux as an ordinary terminal program; what it does not get is the layer on top.
  • Not built is not the same as not yet builtswe-mux has no hosted runners and no team features, and both are deliberately not on the roadmap rather than pending. If you want either, two of the tools above have them today.

Nothing on this page is a benchmark. No tool here was run side by side against another, and none of the rows measure speed, reliability, or how any of this feels after a week. They are capability claims read out of public documentation, which is the most that can be checked from outside.